Billboards warn Carson City of cancer risk due to processed foods
Submitted by editor on Tue, 03/15/2016 - 8:32am
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine — a nonprofit of 12,000 doctors — has placed two billboards warning Carson City residents that cancer-causing processed meats such as hot dogs don’t belong in school meals.
Nevada has the No. 4 colorectal cancer death rate in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Carson City mayor Robert Crowell was also petitioned to remove processed meats from schools.
The billboards, which are located on 4440 US Hwy 50 East NS and 5354 US Hwy 50 East NS, feature the image of a skull and crossbones formed from a sausage patty and hot dogs and warn “Cancer-Causing Foods Don’t Belong in Schools. Processed Meats Cause Cancer. DropTheHotDog.org."
The billboards coincide with National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
“Citizens in colorectal cancer hot spots like Carson City are facing death by deli meat,” says Physicians Committee dietitian Karen Smith, R.D. “Taking cold cuts and other processed meats like hot dogs and bacon out of school meals could help prevent future fatalities.”
The doctors group also sent the Coordinator of Nutritional Services for Carson City School District a toolkit on the dangers of processed meats and tips for removing them from school meals.
A recent World Health Organization report found that processed meats such as hot dogs, pepperoni, bacon, sausage, and deli meats are “carcinogenic to humans.” The authors highlighted a meta-analysis that found each 50 gram portion of processed meat—approximately the size of a typical hot dog — eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent. The report also observed associations between red and processed meat products and stomach, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
In October, the Physicians Committee filed a petition calling upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop offering processed meats for purchase, subsidy, and reimbursement under the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program. The petition asks USDA to encourage schools that offer processed meats to include alternatives to these products in menus.
The Physicians Committee also placed billboards in Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia, which are also among the top six states with the highest colorectal cancer death rates.
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